


The Flu Reveals All

by N1t3sh4d3



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Cat Plagg, F/M, Fluff, Identity Reveal, Plagg Cares, Plagg Is So Done, Sickfic, Tom & Sabine know
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-14
Updated: 2019-02-14
Packaged: 2019-10-28 05:41:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,385
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17781632
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/N1t3sh4d3/pseuds/N1t3sh4d3
Summary: When a nasty flu strikes unexpectedly and causes Adrien to collapse after a battle, Plagg does the one thing he knows he can, get help. If it happens to be from Marinette's parents, who cares? If it forces a reveal, well too bad. As long as Tikki doesn't kill him.





	The Flu Reveals All

**Author's Note:**

  * For [TheBuejay](https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheBuejay/gifts).



> This is for [Miraculousbuebird](https://miraculousbuebird.tumblr.com) and the ML Ship Fleet Discord Valentine's exchange. You asked for any of the love square fluff. I hope you enjoy this!!

    As soon as the battle ended and the fistbump was done, Ladybug swung off as fast as she could. Chat vaulted away, knowing he needed an alley to hide in while Plagg recharged. The sky was already darkening with rain and nightfall. He landed across from the Dupain-Cheng bakery with a sigh of relief. Marinette's parents sold cheese tarts he found Plagg almost preferred over Camembert, which was a welcome change. As his transformation dropped, a wave of dizziness washed over him. Adrien sagged against the wall and looked at Plagg with confusion. The little ball of destruction only appeared distracted.    
  
"Plagg? What's going on? Why do I- Whoa... I think I need to...sit." Adrien turned and slid down the wall, just inside the alley.    
  
"You do that kid. Stay hidden. I'll be right back."    
  
Before Adrien could say anything, Plagg vanished and another wave of dizziness washed over him. He leaned his head back and closed his eyes as a light rain began to caress his face.

  
  
Marinette stumbled as she landed on her balcony and almost fell onto her bed as her transformation dropped. "Tikki,” she moaned, “I don't feel so well...."   
  
Tikki's expression became worried. "You should rest. That Akuma was pretty tough and you haven't been able to get enough sleep this week. A good night's rest should help."   
  
Marinette just gave a slight murmur in agreement, as she drifted off to sleep.

Plagg phased through the window a few seconds later. "Tikki, we have a problem! Oh no. Not Bug too?"   
  
Tikki's concern grew. "What do you mean ‘too?’ Where's Adrien?"   
  
"Passed out in the alley across the street. I thought you guys could help."   
  
"We need to do something quickly!"   
  
Plagg had been scanning the room and suddenly a mischievous glint shone in his eye. "Relax. I have an idea. Just promise me you'll keep an eye on Adrien for me while I get help?"   
  
Tikki threw a fast glance at Marinette, who was in a deep sleep, and nodded to Plagg. "Show me where he is."   
  
    They made it back to Adrien in seconds. Tikki watched as Plagg flew a bit closer to the bakery. Sending her a wink, he morphed into a normal cat. Tikki shook her head and floated down to rest on Adrien's shoulder. Plagg started scratching and meowing at the door.   
  
After a few moments of trying, Plagg looked over at Tikki and rolled his eyes, then phased into the hall. Crashes and cursing could be heard coming from inside. Soon, Tom was chasing Plagg to the street and for a moment it looked like Tom was going to just let Plagg cross the street so he could get back to work. Plagg nipped and hissed at him, then darted forward as Tikki took a moment to glow. As they hoped, Tom spotted Adrien and scooped him up. Rushing back to the bakery, he began calling for Sabine as soon as he made it into the stairwell. Sabine followed him upstairs where she made up the couch for Tom to lay him down on. 

“How in the world did he end up in that alley at this hour?”

“I’m not sure, but that’s not important right now. He’s burning up.” Sabine threw over her shoulder as she went to get the thermometer. A quick check showed a high fever, even though Adrien had begun shivering. Sabine tucked another blanket over him as Tom went down to close the shop early. She brought back a damp washcloth and began smoothing it over his forehead. A small black cat curled up on Adrien’s chest and slowly blinked it’s bright green eyes at her. Sabine just smiled.   
  
“You did well getting Tom,” she said. “This weather has been horrible; no wonder he’s sick. Don’t worry, we’ll take care of Adrien. I’m more worried about what will happen when his father finds out he is missing. I put some treats out, I think you will enjoy them.”

The cat just stared at her, then jerked its head up to look at something behind her and leapt off of Adrien. She heard the quiet padding as the cat found the dish of cream and treats, the muffled sound of Tom’s cell phone ringing drifting up from the stairs.

Tom entered, closing his phone. “Well, that was Alya’s mom. There’s been a bad case of the flu going around the school. Nino and Alya are sick as well, and it looks like just about everyone in their class has it. She wasn't sure if the school would be open tomorrow, with so many kids out. Principal Damocles should be making an announcement later tonight. I’m going to go check on Marinette.”

Sabine hummed in agreement as she wiped Adrien’s forehead. Tom came back quickly.    
  
“Looks like they both have it. Marinette is running a fever too. It doesn’t seem as bad as Adrien’s right now though. I’ve tucked her in and told her I’d be back later to check on her.”

Sabine nodded, “What should we do about Adrien? I’m sure his father will worry if he doesn’t make it home soon, but I haven’t noticed a phone anywhere.”

Tom frowned as he reached for his phone once again. Sabine looked at him slightly confused until he said, "Hello, Marlena? This is Tom again, I have a question for you…”   
  
  
  
Marinette woke up with a pounding headache, feeling congested and achy. Groaning, she rolled over to try to get more comfortable only to have dizziness wash over her. Curling back into a ball she didn't notice the sound of footsteps on her ladder. At the sound of her father’s voice panic gripped her. The only thing she remembered was collapsing in a heap after the battle because of dizziness. Was she transformed? How had she gotten home? What happened to Chat?

“Marinette? How are you feeling?”

She poked her head out from under the blankets to squeak, “Papa? What happened?”

Tom brushed her hair back while checking her temperature, “You’ve got the flu. School has been canceled since so many people are out. You’ve been asleep since you got home and you still have a fairly high fever. I brought up some soup.” At Marinette’s moan of displeasure, Tom only chucked. “Alright, I’ll bring it back later. Get some sleep.”

Marinette snuggled down into her covers as her father climbed down, ready to drift off when she heard him talking to someone. Suddenly there were a few soft thumps as something small and heavy landed on her leg. Startled she sat up to see a small black cat, with vivid green eyes, stare back, a gold bell on his collar. Familiarity tugged at her hazy mind but evaporated as she heard her father’s voice rumble again.

“Hey, it’s okay. You’re safe. You’re very sick with a high fever, it’s probably the flu that everyone has.” A low voice murmured a reply back, which only caused her father to laugh. “Everything is taken care of, no one expects you until tomorrow. Now get some rest, we’ll see if you can stomach anything later. You have a very smart cat. It’s a good thing I found you when I did. The sleet is coming down far too hard for anyone to be outside. What in the world were you doing in the alley?” A loud yawn was the only reply, followed by a sigh from Tom.  

There was a click as her trapdoor shut. The cat had curled up on her leg, purring contentedly, as a slightly hoarse but frantic voice whispered urgently, “Plagg? Plagg where are you? We need to get out of here!”

Marinette froze, as her blood turned to ice. She knew that voice.

“Chat?”

Silence blanketed the room. Marinette glanced down at the cat on her leg, who was completely ignoring her, licking his paw. “You’re Chat’s kwami?”

Tikki appeared next to her, rolling her eyes at Plagg. “It’s late and you are both very sick. For now, please get some sleep. We’ll figure everything out tomorrow.”

“Tikki—”

Giving the cat a frown, Tikki continued resignedly, “Chat, Plagg is fine, he’s just being a brat. Don’t worry about anything other than getting better. We could only hold off the illness for so long and that last Akuma taxed both of you more than we could heal. You are both very weak and sick. From the way that last Akuma was, I would guess that Hawkmoth is just as drained. Take some time and rest.”

Marinette stared at Tikki trying to figure out a way to argue, but there was a sad sigh from downstairs and some rustling as Chat shifted on her chaise. Plagg jumped off her, softly thumping on the floor below, and padding lightly across the floor, which was followed by an ‘oof’ from Chat. Yawning, Marinette snuggled back into her warm blankets.

Tikki flew down to Plagg as soon as Adrien and Marinette's breathing evened out.    
  
"What are you doing?” She demanded, eying the small black kawmi balefully. “They can't find out about—”    
  
"Look Tikki,” Plagg interrupted, “it's getting to the point that they need to know. What if they had both been too sick to fight that Akuma? You know we can only help so much and they were both getting sicker. Besides, Adrien needs a full night of sleep for once. Bug's dad got in touch with them and they know he's super sick but safe here. His dad will probably demand he be moved in the morning, but that sleet is our chance. I was able to steer her parents into bringing him up here. The rest will be on them and honestly, at this point, they'll probably think it's all a dream."   
  
After a moment,Tikki sighed and nodded, getting ready to float back up to Marinette, when the trapdoor opened a little and two smug smiling faces peered up at them. Plagg transformed back into a kawami out of surprise, while Tikki only gaped at Marinette's parents.   
  
"Nice try. Come on down and let's get this straightened out." Sabine whispered with a chuckle.   
  
Once they were down in the living room, Tom brought out some cookies and several of the cheese danishes. Plagg zipped over and began to cram one into his mouth, while Tikki hesitantly floated over to the cookies. Tom smiled wider, “I think these are your favorites. I know they are the ones that Marinette always seems to be taking with her.”

“How did you—”

“We’ve known for a while,” Sabine said gently.

Tikki sighed and nodded, while Plagg looked positively gleeful.

“So,” he asked deviously, “that means free food from now on?”

“Plagg!”

With a laugh Tom nodded then added, “Only if you're here with Adrien though. Now, what do we do when they wake up?”

 

    Adrien woke, what felt like hours later, still unable to find Plagg and burning up. He staggered to his feet, realizing he wasn’t in his room. It was vaguely familiar but in his delirium, he could barely keep thoughts in any sort of coherent order. He tried to whisper again but this time his voice was barely a croak. Flopping down in aggravation only caused the world to spin. Just as he was about let sleep take him, Plagg floated in front of him.

“Get some sleep kid. You’re safe, and we don’t need to be anywhere until much later.”

“No!” Adrien protested hoarsely, shoving himself upright unsteadily. “We need—”

Plagg chuckled as Adrien sat up too fast and swayed dangerously. “You’re in no condition to go anywhere.”

With a glare Adrien simply hissed, “Plagg, Claws out!”

Plagg’s yelling as he got sucked into the ring woke Marinette up, and just as the last sparkles faded she poked her head over the railing.

“Chat?” she asked, looking confused. “What are you doing here?”

Adrien stiffened and tried not to sound too raspy, “Hey purriness, I was just leaving. Sorry to have bothered you. Just recharging a bit from the battle.”

Marinette stared at him in the low light as he tried to climb to her bed. How had he gotten here? The battle ended hours ago, didn’t it? Her head was fuzzy and sitting up was making her dizzy. Chat made it up to the top of her ladder and she could see how flushed he was. He collapsed across the mattress still partially on the ladder. She grabbed his arms and pulled him over more, wincing at how little he moved.

“Chat?” She shook him gently, trying to rouse him, but he only groaned at her. Pulling him a bit further up, she was able to finally feel exactly how warm he was. He was obviously running a high fever, but her dad had been talking to Chat earlier. Had he given Chat some medication? Had she even taken any?

Tikki floated next to her head as Chat cracked an eye open, “Thanks, princess. I just need a second, then I’ll be out of your hair.”

Before she could say anything, the green sparkly glow washed over him and a very irate tiny cat kwami folded his arms, glaring.

“No, you idiot! We are  _ not  _ leaving. I can’t believe you forced the transformation like that!” the kwami snapped, ears folded back in irritation. “It was dangerous and stupid. You’re lucky I knew you were trying to get up here to leave. I figured Bug would be able to help you more here. Now, lay down and get some sleep. I  _ told _ you it was safe.”

Marinette and Adrien just stared at each other in shock. Then Marinette laid down, pulling Adrien with her and wrapping the blanket around them, as she snuggled closer. “I’m pretty sure that this a dream because there is no way the boy of my dreams is also my partner, but I’m way too sick to deal with this right now Kitty.”

“Agreed M’lady. I would be over the moon if you really were Ladybug, Marinette. Let’s get some sleep for now. We can deal with this in the morning.” Adrien pressed a delirious kiss into her hair as he fell asleep, more content than he had been in years.

Marinette’s screech of surprise was a bit jarring to be woken up by though.

**Author's Note:**

> Comments and Kudos welcome


End file.
